Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota today criticised the decision by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt not to reappoint current Arts Council England (Ace) chairman Dame Liz Forgan when her term ends in January.

The recruitment process for a new boss is expected to start after Easter but Serota said: "I am deeply disappointed that Liz Forgan is not being renewed as chair of the Arts Council. She has led the Council with real verve and conviction through a period in which cuts to arts spending could have resulted in the loss of major parts of our cultural landscape.

"That the arts are weathering these reductions is due to the resilience of companies and artists but also to the leadership and good judgment that she has shown as chair of the Arts Council."

Hunt said: "I am very grateful to her for all her hard work, advice and support, and wish her every success in her future endeavours. The next chair of the Arts Council will have to steer the organisation and the sector through another challenging period, in particular in increasing the amount of private giving to the arts, and encouraging the sector to make the most of technological changes.

"I am confident that we will find the right person for the job, and confident that our arts and culture will remain the envy of the world."

Dame Liz, who previously chaired the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund, edited the Guardian's women's pages from 1978 to 1982 before working at Channel 4 and the BBC.

The organisation's chief executive Alan Davey said Dame Liz would be "much missed".

He said: "When Liz departs at the end of her four year term in January, she will leave behind a transformed Arts Council - one whose greater transparency and efficiency has been recognised in its being entrusted with a wider remit that includes museums, libraries and cultural education alongside the arts. And that is due, in no small part, to her stewardship."

The Government told Ace to cut 15% from what it gives out to arts groups by 2015 when spending cuts were announced last year, leaving it with just under £1 billion to distribute.